


Freckles

by snnycarisi



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Weddings, a WHOLE lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 12:31:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18917053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snnycarisi/pseuds/snnycarisi
Summary: Rafael had freckles. They were tiny, and barely noticeable but they were there and Sonny loved them.---A collection of drabble all loosely connected by Sonny being weak over Rafael's freckles.





	Freckles

Rafael had freckles.

They were tiny, and barely noticeable but they were there and Sonny loved them. He first noticed them after their first kiss.

After hours of studying for night school with Rafael’s help, the two men stood on Sonny’s tiny balcony, each with a drink in hand. The cool air coloured their cheeks pink as they pretended to be watching the city, but really just stole glances at each other. Rafael didn’t cope well with the cold and began to shiver, moving closer to Sonny as the younger man seemed to radiate warmth in a physical sense as much as metaphorical. Sonny then put down his beer and took hold of Rafael’s icy hands with his warm ones. Eventually, Sonny pulled his hands away and placed his warm palms on the older man’s cheeks, thumbs caressing his cheekbones. 

That was when he noticed the freckles. Tiny and scattered from the corner of his eyes to the bridge of his nose- Sonny had never really seen them before which only made him want Rafael more than he already did. 

Slowly, cautiously, he leaned into Rafael’s personal space. He told himself it was the first move towards him finally kissing the older man, but really he just wanted a closer look at the brown flecks on Rafael’s nose he was so fascinated with. He wondered how they would look in the summer, after Rafael had caught some sun. Sonny had already thought Rafael was the most beautiful man he had ever seen, but the addition of these freckles made him all the more irresistible in Sonny’s eyes. 

“Are you going to kiss me or not?” Rafael demanded, feigning impatience when Sonny could tell he was, in reality, giddy with anticipation. 

Sonny nodded, smiling, and placed a delicate kiss to the older man’s lips. From that moment on, he never wanted to stop kissing Rafael.

\---  
The golden light of sunrise seeped through Rafael’s curtains, washing the two men lying in his bed in a warm glow. Sonny blinked sleep out of his eyes- it was early, but he had always been a morning person. Despite being awake, neither man was scheduled to work that day, so Sonny had no reason to remove himself from the tight embrace of his boyfriend and leave the bed. 

For a moment, he just lay there taking in the feeling of not waking up alone. The past few months he had been with Rafael were some of the happiest of his life and he was just so glad to have him. In public, Rafael seemed grouchy and kind of mean to him, but in private he was more loving, more caring than even Sonny could understand. Whenever there was a case taking an emotional toll on him, Rafael was there without being asked. Whenever there was conflict in Sonny’s family (which seemed like all the time) Rafael gave a sympathetic ear and let him vent about how irritating his sisters were, or how his mother never listened to him, even if Rafael didn’t really understand. He was always there for Sonny, no matter what, and Sonny liked to think he did the same for Rafael. 

Rafael’s arm draped across his waist like a deadweight- Sonny felt safer and more loved than he ever had. He shifted slightly, to get a look at his sleeping boyfriend. As expected, Rafael was beautiful. He was beautiful awake and asleep- if he was breathing, he was taking Sonny’s breath away. The golden light made his tan skin glow, making him look ethereal. And the best of all, it accentuated the dark freckles splattered across his tranquil face. In that moment, he looked about twenty years younger. Then, as if he could tell he was being watched, Rafael’s doe eyes cracked open, and a lazy smile spread across his face. 

“Enjoy the view?” He mumbled, voice heavy with sleep. 

“Mhm. You’re gorgeous.” Sonny whispered sincerely, nuzzling into Rafael’s hair and inhaling his scent.

“Sucking-up isn’t going to get you laid you know,” Rafael dead-panned, still struggling to wake up. Sonny’s laughed loudly, right from his stomach causing the older man to breathe out the ghost of a giggle.

“Damn. At least I can say I tried?” He kissed the top of Rafael’s head. “Another time, love.” 

\---

Sonny’s concentration was drawn away from his paperwork as Olivia dropped a manila folder onto the desk in front of him.

“For Barba. I figured you might want to take your lunch break and go see him, so you might as well be useful while you do so.” 

Sonny grinned, thankful his boss had such a soft spot for his relationship. 

“Thanks, Lieu. See you in an hour?”

She nodded, turning back towards her office as he put his coat on and prepared to leave. Before he could escape the bullpen she called out,  
“Oh! Carisi, wait a minute- I think he said he was in court this morning and you should meet him out the front of the courthouse instead of his office.”

Sonny, who had taken it upon himself to always know when his partner was in court, looked at Olivia with confusion. 

“Really? He said that today?”

“Mhm, you can text him if you want but I’m pretty sure that’s what he said.” Something in her expression tightened, like she was frustrated with his line of questioning. This only confused Sonny further. But maybe he was misreading the situation; maybe Rafael really had been in court all morning, and maybe Olivia was just trying to get him to use his lunch hour wisely. So, folder in hand, he called an uber and left in the direction of the courthouse.

Even from the bottom of the steps, through crowds of tourists, attorneys and journalists that collected around the building, Sonny could see Rafael- more specifically, how nervous he looked. One of his worst habits was scratching himself; he would scratch his skin until it bled if he was nervous enough, and there stood outside the courthouse, scratching his wrists like he was about to receive the verdict on a case he knew he had lost. Tentatively climbing the steps, Sonny approached his boyfriend, holding the folder out in front of him. 

“I brought the files, but I’m starting to think maybe that was just a smokescreen,” Rafael chuckled as Sonny lightly kissed his temple in greeting. 

“Am I really that obvious?” Sonny nodded, grinning and dropped the folder next to his feet. 

“So what’s up? Why do you look like your about to get the results back for an exam you bombed?”  
Taking Sonny’s hands in his, Rafael let out a shaky breath and briefly shut his eyes to regain his composure.

Sonny, suddenly fearing Rafael’s nerves were due to an oncoming break up, interrupted. “Raf, honey, you’re makin’ me nervous, what’s going on?”

“You know I love you right?” Sonny nodded. “More than I ever expected to love anyone- I thought that was it for me but then you came into my life and changed everything. You’re mi sol, mi luna y mi cielo- it’s cliche but it’s true, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me,” Reaching into his pocket, Rafael dropped down on one knee, right there in front of the building he went to work in everyday. This completely threw Sonny off. They had been together for two years now and of course Sonny was eager to marry him, but they hadn’t talked about it before, not really, and Sonny had been under the impression that Rafael wasn’t ready. Boy had he been wrong.

The more Sonny thought about it, the happier he became with Rafael’s plan to propose outside of the courthouse. The place they had shared their passion for justice and bonded over legal expertise. Where Rafael was his mentor, then friend. Where Rafael had grown to tolerate him, then like him, then respect him, then love him. From Rafael’s pocket he produced a black velvet box and Sonny felt he was about to pass out.

“Is that? Is that a-”

“Don’t interrupt me.” Rafael cut in, a smirk plastered to his face. Even in such a tender moment there was room between them for teasing- it was so them Sonny thought, so perfect.

“So, Sonny Carisi, will you marry me?” The box was open now, and revealing a thin, platinum band, encrusted with three tiny diamonds. Sonny wanted to laugh at how long he thought Rafael had searched and who had helped him (probably Sonny’s sisters- oh God), needing to find the perfect one. But for Sonny, even an onion-ring would be perfect if it was presented by that man. 

Glancing downwards, towards Rafael, Sonny saw bright green eyes glittering in the afternoon sun and the veridian tie that perfectly complimented them. He saw the freckles he could trace his fingers lazily across in the dark, so familiar with their pattern they were like a part of him. The freckles that barely anyone saw, one of the many parts of Rafael he kept shut away from most people except for Sonny, catching in the light and making Sonny weak. He saw love and kindness and willingness to put up with Sonny even when he was irritating the life out of everyone else. He saw Rafael hang up his pride and propose to Sonny in public even though Sonny knew he absolutely hated being so exposed, purely because he knew Sonny would like it. He saw Rafael, the person he loved more than anything else- how could he say no?

\---

The case had been hard. Really hard. It seemed like every move they made, the perp had some way of escaping persecution. The trial hadn’t been much better, and nearing the end, they still seemed far from the guilty verdict they had been searching for. It had hit Rafael the hardest; it wasn’t that he was a sore loser (well he was, but that's besides the point), he had just put so much of himself into preparing for trial, and to still have the jury unconvinced frustrated him to no ends. 

Sonny knew all of this, of course. Every night they went to bed passionately discussing the strategy he would be using the next day. You would think it would irritate him, after weeks of a rape-trial being pretty much the only conversation he made with his fiance, but Sonny knew he couldn’t do anything to stop Rafael’s determined tunnel-vision on winning the case. It was part of what made him him, and like hell Sonny would do anything to change that. Plus, he knew when it all came down to it, Rafael was doing this for the victim and not himself. 

Which is why he was a little shocked to come home one night to find all of the lights still off and the man he loved sitting on their couch instead of his home office, a scotch in hand and tears running down his face. Sonny hadn’t been able to make it to court that day and was now beginning to regret it. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” He flicked on the living room lamp and crouched in front of Rafael, palms flat on the older man’s knees, rubbing circles there with his thumbs. Rafael jumped, not realising his fiance had arrived home, and hurriedly wiped away the tears, shaking his head. 

“I cross-examined the defendant today.” He let out a short, watery laugh. “He played me. I thought I had him but he was really good, babe. He flipped it on me and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost the jury.” The tears flowed more freely now, as Rafael continued, quieter. “I really fucked it up, and now he’s gonna get off. All of this for nothing.” 

Sonny’s heart shattered. He didn’t think he would ever be able to see Rafael, usually so composed and calculated, crying alone in the dark without wanting to break into tears himself. Rafael cared more than anyone- except possibly Sonny- knew and all Sonny wanted was for his hurt to be taken away. 

“It’s not on you. Everyone’s seen how hard you’ve been working, love- you’ve done your best and it’s in the jury’s hands now. Plus, you could still win them over with your closing arguments.” Rafael shot him a skeptical look, both men knowing this was unlikely at best. Still, Sonny would say anything if he thought it would make Rafael feel even a tiny bit better. 

Sonny then reached out and cupped Rafael’s wet, splotchy cheeks with his hands and collected the tears with his thumbs. Dragging himself up onto the couch next to his fiance, Sonny closed the gap between them, resting his forehead against the other man’s. He was now close enough to see the delicious sprinkles of freckles across Rafael’s face. He leaned in, and began lightly pressing his lips against the ones on his nose, moving to his cheeks and then the ones near his eyes; If Sonny had to literally drink Rafael’s tears to make them go away, he wouldn’t even hesitate. Rafael chuckled and caught hold of Sonny’s neck, drawing the detective’s lips down to his own.

Sonny broke away. “Raf, listen to me,” Dragging up the older man’s face so he could see into his eyes, he continued. “I’m gonna be here no matter what- if you’re the new hero of the DA’s office,” Rafael snorted, eliciting a soft smile from Sonny. “Or if you lose spectacularly. I know you’ve done the best you could and that’s all anyone can ask of you.” 

Rafael nodded and sniffled, face still red but eyes now dry. He then nuzzled into the crook of Sonny’s neck (which he swore was made just for him) and let out a deep sigh. 

Sonny pressed a soft kiss into his hair and stroked his fingers up and down Rafael’s back. He would be okay, and for that Sonny was grateful. 

\---

Sonny’s smile ate up his whole face as he the first few notes of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ began to play into the hall. It was a cliche song for their first dance, which Rafael had pointed out, but it was the same song his parent’s had danced to and Rafael could never deny Sonny of that. Just a few hours before, a shiny golden band had been slid onto his ring-finger by his fiance, now husband, and Sonny had never been happier. 

“May I have this dance?” Rafael offered his arm to Sonny, a matching grin plastered to his face. Weaving their way through the crowds of friends and family that flooded the wedding reception, the couple entered the dance floor for their first dance. 

One hand on Rafael’s hip and another on his shoulder, Sonny twirled the two men across the room. He was close enough to smell the cologne his husband wore for special occasions. Close enough to see the tiny scar he had on his chin from a childhood accident. And best of all, close enough to see the freckles spread across his husband’s face. He counted them, and started again when he lost count; all he could think was that he would get to do this for the rest of his life. Not a day would go by without him waking up to that face next to his own- he could count the freckles forever if he wanted to.

As soon as the song finished, Rafael was whisked away from him by a group of older Cuban women, whom Sonny assumed were his aunt’s or cousins, leaving Sonny standing alone, still beaming. 

Then Olivia approached him, tears in her eyes as she pulled him in for a bone crushing hug. 

“Thanks for coming, Lieu.” He said softly, into her ear before they parted. 

“I’m so proud of you Sonny. And so happy for you- both of you,” Her words thick with emotion, Sonny new she meant it. “Here, look at this.” She pulled her phone out of her purse and opened the images gallery, showing Sonny a picture of him and Rafael dancing. 

Sonny felt himself tearing up. Both men in the picture stared at each other like no one else in the room mattered. So much love in each other’s eyes it made him feel giddy. And Rafael, looking more beautiful than Sonny could have even imagined. His hair styled perfectly (he had spent hours making sure there wasn’t a single hair out of place), his bright green eyes contrasting stunningly with the gold tie was wearing, and his face glowing with joy. He looked so young, it almost made the freckled stand out further. He was gorgeous and now, he was all Sonny’s.

“Jeez Lieu, that’s an incredible photo, you’re gonna have to send that to me.” She smiled, softly, and nodded.

“Happy looks good on you, Carisi.”

She was right, and Sonny had never been happier.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought in the comments !


End file.
